In Pictures: The Most Revolutionary Videogames Of All Time

The trailblazing games on this list are not necessarily the "best" games ever made or even best sellers. Some, like "Dune II" (1992), were out-and-out commercial flops. But they all have one feature in common--they changed the way people play. Some introduced innovative controls or enhanced graphics. Others defined a genre or expanded gaming to entirely new audiences. All altered the industry.

Spacewar!

Author: Steve Russell (1962)

The first videogame ever was the brain child of Steve Russell, a computer programmer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In the game, two armed spaceships fired missiles at each other while traveling through a star's gravity well. Russell launched the multibillion- dollar videogame industry, but he never saw a dime from it.

Pong

Publisher: Atari (1972)

Kids today might scoff at this black and white, two-dimensional table tennis game, but Atari pioneered the console industry when it launched the home version of "Pong" in 1975, three years after it had taken the arcades by storm. OK, so maybe "Pong" wasn't the first home videogame (that was "Magnavox's Odyssey," released in 1972), but it was the first popular home videogame.

Adventure

Authors: William Crowther and Don Woods (1976)

This 1970s text-based game was the first computer adventure game. Players used natural-seeming English language commands--like "Go North," "Fight the bear" to navigate an underground cave complex. The game, which had a sense of humor (response to "Fight the bear" was "With what? Your bare hands? Against his bear hands??") laid the foundations for "interactive fiction" blockbusters like "Zork" (1980) and "Planetfall" (1983).

Legend of Zelda

Publisher: Nintendo (1986)

This swords and sorcery classic for the original Nintendo Entertainment System was full of innovations. First, players could move Link, the protagonist, anywhere they wanted, an open game style that is popular in many modern games like "Grand Theft Auto." Better yet, because Nintendo included a battery in the game cartridge, games could be saved. Prior to "Zelda," players had two options: Pause the game and pray their sisters didn't turn it off or turn it off themselves, surrendering all progress.

Tetris

Author: Alexey Pajitnov (1984)

The granddaddy of all puzzle games, Tetris originally was published in Moscow in 1984 and in the U.S. two years later. The simple, maddeningly addictive game appealed to everyone: boys, girls, children and adults. Its 1989 release on the original Nintendo Game Boy sold over 35 million copies, bringing handheld gaming to the masses. Regularly a top contender on lists of the greatest videogames of all time, it has been released on more than 30 platforms and is played over a million times each and every day.

Dune II

Publisher: Virgin Interactive (1992)

Never heard of it? You aren't alone, but this baby started the real-time strategy craze. It wasn't the very first real-time strategy game, but it was the first good one. Inspired by the best-selling sci-fi adventure film and novel, the game featured revolutionary game controls: mouse-operated units, resource-gathering and technology that developed along specific "trees." It was not a commercial success, but "Dune II" paved the way for blockbusters like "Command & Conquer" (1995) and "Age of Empires" (1997).

Wolfenstein 3D

Publisher: Apogee Software (1992)

"Wolfenstein 3D" popularized so-called "first-person shooter" style of games--where the player explores a fantasy world from a first-person point of view, preferably with a large weapon in their hands. First-person shooters remain among the most popular of all games--"Doom" (1993) and "Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2" (2009) are both variants of the genre. "Wolfenstein" was also revolutionary in that it was originally released as shareware, meaning people were encouraged to copy it and share it among friends. A small payment was requested if players elected to keep the game permanently.

Super Mario 64

Publisher: Nintendo (1996)

"Super Mario 64" was one of the launch titles for the Nintendo 64 game console, and it has been credited with nearly single-handedly resurrecting the home videogame market, which was struggling in the mid-1990s. Considered among the first games to truly and properly use a three-dimensional perspective, in "Super Mario 64" the overall-wearing plumber collected gold coins, jumped over pools of molten lava, and, of course, rescued the princess.

PaRappa the Rapper

Publisher: Sony (1996)

"PaRappa the Rapper," the animated dog who rapped out original tunes on the PlayStation invented the entire music--or rhythm--videogame genre. First released in Japan in late 1996 and then in North America a year later, the game was the first to connect a player's tapping on a controller to a musical beat. "PaRappa the Rapper" was never a mega-hit in its own right, but it paved the way for "Guitar Hero" (2005) and the "Rock Band" series (2007).

Ultima Online

Publisher: Electronic Arts (1997)

Fans of role-playing games remember fondly the Ultima series, which dates back to the original "Ultima I" from 1980. But when Electronic Arts took Lord British's empire online in 1997, it changed gaming forever. Gamers could now dial into (and back then they did indeed dial into) a game server and cross swords with thousands of other players in what became popularly known as massively multiplayer online games (MMOs). "Ultima Online" was not the first MMO--"Meridian 59" and others predate it--but it was the MMO that launched a million fantasy careers on the "World of Warcraft" (2004) and "Everquest" (1999).

The Sims

Publisher: Electronic Arts (2000)

Legendary game designer Will Wright--"SimCity" (1989), "Spore" (2008)--first realized that the stresses and pleasures of everyday life could be the basis for a popular game after his house burned down in the 1991 Oakland, Calif., firestorm. In "The Sims," players get to experience--and largely control--their Sims' psycho-emotional wants and needs. The game has sold over 100 million copies and is considered the first in-depth game to appeal to women.

Grand Theft Auto III

Publisher: Rockstar Games (2001)

The top-selling game of 2001, "Grand Theft Auto III" was set in Liberty City, a thinly disguised version of New York City, and was heavy on crime, gangs, drugs, sex and rock and roll. It turned older players on and moralists off, and the extensive use of licensed and original music helped complete the alliance between the game and recording industries, epitomized today by titles like "Rock Band: The Beatles."

Scrabulous

Authors: Rajat and Jayant Agarwalla (2005)

"Scrabulous"--now called "Lexulous" after a run-in with Scrabble copyright holder Hasbro--was the game that turned Facebook into a gaming platform. Originally launched on a dedicated Scrabulous Web site in 2005, the game premiered as a Facebook app in 2007 and quickly became the most popular gaming application on the site, luring an entire generation of board gamers to join the social- networking site.

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Wii Sports

Publisher: Nintendo (2006)

Bundled with Ninetendo's Wii videogame console, "Wii Sports" was designed to show off the revolutionary motion-capture capability of the Wii Remote. Players used realistic motions to swing virtual tennis rackets and golf clubs, and along the way Wii Sports launched a whole new trend of "exer-gaming"--yes, exercising by playing videogames--that culminated in Wii Fit. First released in Japan at the end of 2007, "Wii Fit"--in which players can simulate doing activities ranging from yoga to ski jumping--is currently the second best-selling videogame of all time.